Smoker who pulled seven-inch knife ordered to leave Jersey

Wednesday 30 August 2023

A man who pulled a seven-inch knife when told not to smoke in an indoor public place is being sent back to Romania – and welcomed the decision.

The Magistrate’s Court heard that 44-year-old Nicolae Tudor had been smoking outside the sports hall at Les Ormes leisure centre on the evening of 16 July, when two people nearby pointed out that smoking was prohibited in the area.

Legal adviser Francis Burak, prosecuting, said: "He took a knife out and walked towards them."

The weapon was a kitchen knife with a seven-inch blade. Tudor did not use the knife, Mr Burak said, and later put it back in his pocket.

"A witness noticed that he was intoxicated," he added.

Tudor admitted a charge of conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace and told the court via a Romanian interpreter that he just wanted to go back to his home country, where his wife and five children live.

Tudor has no previous convictions and the court heard that he had been in custody for 35 days, so Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris told him: "I think you have spent long enough in prison."

He ordered him to leave Jersey and banned him from returning within the next three years. He was told he would remain in custody until the arrangements were made for him to leave.